


Into The Forest of Fireflies' Light

by PrezidentTaquito



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, 蛍火の杜へ | Hotarubi no Mori e
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hotarubi no Mori e AU, Lance's Mother, Lance's grandfather, M/M, light shance if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 09:54:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14734754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrezidentTaquito/pseuds/PrezidentTaquito
Summary: The first time we met I was only seven years old. Yet, I still recall the day clearly, even if it’s been years since then. That day it was hot, and the curious six-year-old me had gone into the forest that lay beyond my grandfather's house, wandering in so deep and for so long I got lost among the trees. But, this wasn’t just any forest I had lost myself in, it was the forest that belonged to the so-called mountain god and spirits that were said to live there.





	Into The Forest of Fireflies' Light

_The first time we met I was only seven years old. Yet, I still recall the day clearly, even if it’s been years since then. That day it was hot, and the curious six-year-old me had gone into the forest that lay beyond my grandfather's house, wandering in so deep and for so long I got lost among the trees. But, this wasn’t just any forest I had lost myself in, it was the forest that belonged to the so-called mountain god and spirits that were said to live there_.

~~~

He curled into a ball even though the clothes sticking to his back and chest from sweat made him uncomfortable. It had been hours since he had left the house. The boy had no idea how much more time had passed as he sat under the tree crying. Being as young as he was and  lost, alone in the woods could end badly. He was scared that no one would find him. That his grandfather would give up on looking and he would be left in the forest, never to be seen again.

 _So tired…_ the six-year-old brooded _. I don’t wanna move anymore._

He continued to sob loudly. It was reckless to just go running into the forest by himself and leaving the trail to explore deeper. The child regretted his decision deeming them idiotic. He may have been only six, but he was taught well to never leave the path. So why did he? What had prompted his decision?

More minutes passed with only the sounds of birds and the wind moving through the trees to let the child know he was still in the same spot.

“Oi shorty!” A voice called out. The boy froze and looked up, turning his head in all directions to try and catch a glimpse of who spoke.

He was about to give up, when, behind a tree a tall male appeared, wearing a mask. The boy stared at him for a few seconds, drinking in his appearance. He wore a plain shirt with another collared one over it and pants with boots. The boy also noted that the older male had longer hair. After he was done analyzing the stranger, he blinked a few times to confirm he wasn’t seeing things. The man was still there.

“Why the hell are you crying?”

The boy gasped and whipped his tears quickly, pushing himself off the ground. Ignoring the foul language, he started running towards the other out of relief.

“It’s a person!” He cried out barreling towards the masked man. “Ahhh! I’m finally saved!”

Just as he was about to hug the man out of excitement, he stepped out of the way with a small huff. The young boy tripped and fell, groaning as he pushed himself up off the grass once more. When he turned to glare at the man he saw that the other was looking at him, head tilted a little to the side as if he were thinking about something.

“Sorry about that.” The masked man scratched the back of his neck, voice deep and monotone.

“You don’t _sound_ very apologetic.”

“Whatever.” The older male continued to look down on the child as he got off the ground. He analyzed the child with a slight suspicion, “You’re a human kid, aren’t you?”

The boy’s eyes widened. He was confused. What did this man mean by “human kid”? Of course, he was human. What else could he be? A shark? But in the end, he only nodded once, and the stranger turned his head slightly to look off into the trees.

“Look, if I’m touched by a human I’ll disappear.” He suddenly explained after a few seconds of thick silence. 

“If a human touches you…? Wait. You’re not human? How does that work? You look like a person to me.”

The boy tilted his head curiously to the side. How could this man not be human? He sure did look like one. From what he had seen the male acted like one to, although slightly intimidating, but a person nonetheless.

The stranger shook his head. “No. I’m just… something that lives in this forest. That’s it.”

“Wait… Then that means you’re one of the spirits that live here! Right?” The boy clapped his hands together and his face lit up, widely grinning from ear to ear, missing teeth and all. Much enthusiasm radiated off the short child at the idea of meeting a spirit from the mountain.

“But…” he paused, thinking for a minute about what the man said, “What do you mean by “you’ll disappear”?”

Both parties were silent for a more drawn-out period, just watching each other before the boy reached out to touch the man’s arm. Only for him to sidestep once again. The boy stumbled and turned around to lunge again. The man dodged another attempt. The small child continued to make an attempt at touching the man. He almost succeeded once when the stranger had stumbled over a rock while walking backwards.

The child dove again, a playful glint in his eye. But, he wasn’t expecting when a dull ‘thud’ was heard and the following pain where the man hit him over the head with a large stick.

The boy crumpled to the ground, cradling his head and pouting. “Ow, ow, owww…”

The older of the two stood mutely watching the boy cover his head. It was almost comedic and made him smirk a little underneath the mask.  
He took this time to take in the child’s appearance. He wore a simple baseball t-shirt with cargo shorts and tennis shoes -- something that practically any young boy would wear. As his gaze wandered towards the young child’s face he paused and watched under the cover of the mask. Short chocolate brown hair and he had noted before the boy had eyes the shade of the ocean. A deep blue he could get lost in on any day.

The man shook his head. It was only a human child. It would find its way out of the forest ultimately and not return. He would go back to being in solitude like he wanted. But the boy spoke up, bringing him out of his internal views.

“You’re really...  not a human after all. No one would would hit a child on the head with a branch!” The boy looked up from his position on the grass. A handful of tears trailed down the child’s face because of the aching and he sniffed. Caribbean blue looked unrestrained with the tears that trickled out, making the stranger pause. He found the color captivating.  

The man heaved a sigh, letting his arms rest at his sides again. “To disappear… it means to be obliterated, eradicated, destroyed. Shorty, if you were ever to touch me, that’s it. I’d be done for. _Dead_.”

The boy sat up straighter. He was starting to feel awful for nearly ending the life of a spirit. Yet before he could voice his apology, the other started talking again. “It’s the incantation the god of this mountain put on me. If I was to be touched by a person, that’s the end. Period.”

The boy bowed his head in the direction of the grass, now remorseful that he had tried to touch the other.

“I’m sorry…” he stammered, in an effort to gain back some of his composure. The man merely shook his head dismissively.

The not-so-strange stranger, held out one end of the branch and gazed off to the side, “Oi, here shorty. Grab that end.”

The short boy hesitated and the other huffed, “You’re lost, aren’t you? I’ll lead you back to the trail.”

Once he realized the man was honestly trying to help him, a small smile spread across his face lighting it up and making all previous hesitation vanish. “Ahhhh… Thank you!”

He lunged at the man in joy to hug him —who yelled in surprise— only to be hit on the head with the stick. Again.

He fell to the ground and rolled around clutching his head.

“What did I _just_ say kid.”

“Sorry, sorry. I just got so excited.” He giggled while still nursing his wound on the ground.

~~~

_I didn’t know then, but this stranger wearing a mask would change my life forever._

_~~~_

They had been walking for a shorter amount of time than the boy had thought, but it was still nice to be able to see all the things that lay hidden in the forest on the way back to the path.

The duo was walking down a long, old flight of stairs —that used to lead to a temple—  when the boy spoke up again.

“You know,” he began to fill the deep void that was their heavy silence, “This is kinda like going on a date.”

“How is this a date? All we've done is walk.” 

“Well… We held hands and we talked.”

“Ain’t a very romantic one then. That’s for sure.”

The boy laughed. “But I thought it was fun. I got to see so many pretty flowers on the way.”

The man grunted to let the boy know he had heard, but continued to stay silent. He turned his head a little to glance at the boy for a few seconds during their decent.

 _There is something different about him, but I don’t think its a bad thing._ The man mused.

He turned his gaze back up to the path in front of him and wondered how this small child was so calm and content, when, just a few hours ago he had been crying out of fear.

“You aren’t afraid.”

Ocean blue gazed up at the other. He tilted his head slightly in uncertainty. “Afraid of what?”

“No, it’s… Never mind…”

The blue eyes returned their stare to the path. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna say it.”

As they came upon the end of the territory where the masked stranger could go, the duo stopped, and the boy let go of the branch, stepping away from the taller of the two.

“If you continue down, going straight that way,” the man pointed down an older, less used path, “You’ll eventually hit the mountain path and that’ll lead you back. Goodbye."

The boy started running down the handful of stairs that led up to the entrance to the mountain. He paused at the bottom and turned around.  “Are you always gonna be here? If I were to come back, would you still be here?”

“This forest belongs to the god of the mountain and the spirits that reside within. If a human sets foot in it’s boundaries… they’ll lose their way and become lost. Forever.”

The child continued to stare at the one who brought him out of the forest. Silent and contemplating. He noted the emphasis on the word “forever”, but paid little attention to it.

“I don’t suggest you come back.” He paused, “Villagers say not to come here, right?”

The boy smiled, ignoring what the man said. “My name is Lance. Lance McClain. And what about you?”

The masked man stayed silent. It was then Lance wished he could see under that mask to read the man’s face, to know what he was thinking. He may not have been able to see the strangers face, but he could almost _feel_ the intense stare from the other.

He started backing away, a couple steps at a time getting ready to flee back home. “I’ll be back tomorrow to bring you a thank you present. Good-bye!”

Lance turned and took off running down the path.

“It’s Keith.”

He stopped in his tracks and whirled around, only to see the stranger gone. He listened as the wind rushed past his ears, ruffling up his hair. He mumbled the name out to himself, liking the feel of the new word in his tongue.

“Keith…”

~~~

Lance had continued down the path Keith had pointed out for another half hour before he heard someone calling his name.

“Lance! Lance where are you!”

Lance rounded a corner and saw his grandfather standing a few yards down the path. “Grandpa!”

“Lance!”

Both parties ran towards the other and Lance was enveloped in a bone crushing hug.

“Lance you can’t just wander off into the woods by yourself! You could have gotten hurt, or worse!”

“I’m sorry…” Lance was put down on the ground again.

“I’m just glad you’re safe. Now, let’s go back to the house before your mother kills me.” Lance nodded in agreement with his grandfather's proposal. He did not like the idea of his mother being mad at all.

The walk back was mostly silent until Lance once again decided to pipe up with a question.

“Grandpa, do spirits really live in that forest?”

“The forest of the mountain god? Ah, how would I know? I’ve never seen any myself.”

Lance looked up at the aging man.

“When I was just a little older than you I wanted to see the spirits though, so my friends and I would travel into the forest nearly every day to try and see them.”

Lance listened with eager interest. “In the end we never saw any, but every so often I thought I could see something in the corner of my eye. One of my friends even said she heard sounds of a festival in the forest, but the people here would have never held one in that place.”

The young child was always fascinated in his grandfather's stories. They were always tales he looked forward to during the summers he spent in the mountains.

Once the two were back at the house and ate dinner, Lance’s grandfather had decided to go to bed. Lance stayed awake in his room for another hour. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, memories of the day running through his mind.

In the end he tired himself out and closed his eyes, dreaming of the masked man whose name was Keith.

~~~

“You actually showed up. I didn’t think you’d come back.”

Lance stood at a distance as Keith was sitting on the stairs, watching him from under the mask.

“You…” the older male tilted his head to one side, “You waited for me!”

Lance ran at Keith happily, completely forgetting the, ‘if you touch me, I’ll disappear’ statement.

‘ _Thud_ ’, for the third time Lance was hit over the head with a branch. “You don’t ever learn do you kid?”

Lance pouted, rubbing his forehead from the ground. “Sorry… I was just so happy.”

Keith shook his head, “It’s hot out today, you wanna go somewhere cooler?”

Lance blanked for a few moments. “What?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you  get out of this place safely again.”

The child became more animated and tooth fully grinned. Standing up, he followed Keith through the trees. The duo walked up the long flight of stairs that they had traveled down the day before and crossed a bridge over a small creek. They were walking on another path in the woods when Lance stopped to look around, thinking he’d heard something and he had the feeling something was watching him. He investigated the trees nearby but saw nothing, so he continued to follow the other.

Lance froze again when he heard a noise to the left side of him. He stopped to stare into the tree line when he saw a figure taking shape. He gasped when it spoke.

“Keith… Is that a human child...? Can I… eat it?”

Lance moved the few paces that separated him from the older male and hid behind him.

Keith sighed, “No, he’s my friend.”

“Is that… right?” The creature looked back at Lance, “Human child… please do not touch Keith’s skin. If you do. I’ll… eat you.”

Just then Keith sneezed, scaring the creature away.

“That was just one of the spirits that lives here. He’s all bark, but got no bite. He won’t bother you.” Lance nodded to show he understood.

Lance bounced on the balls of his feet a couple of times. “That’s so cool! It’s the first time I’ve seen a real spirit! They really do exist!”

Keith was mildly offended and muttered, “So what the hell did you think I was?”

He turned to continue walking. Lance stopped his excited bouncing to follow.

“Hey Keith, are you a no-face or something? Why do you wear that mask?”

Keith continued walking without looking back at Lance. “No real reason, but, never mind me. Tell me about yourself.”

Lance’s smile faded for a split second before returning. “Are you curious?”

He drew out the last syllables of the word “curious” and the other rolled his eyes under the mask. “Well, that’s why I waited for you.”

Lance giggled and jogged ahead of Keith. ‘ _Today is going to be a fun day’_ , he thought.

~~~

The brunet had been visiting Keith every day for almost a month now and he enjoyed every bit of it. It was always fun to run around with the older male and watch the clouds pass by as they lay on the ground, too tired to run any longer.

One of those days the duo was relaxing, Keith laying down under the sun, and Lance nearby picking some flowers to make a flower crown for himself. Once he was done, he stood and made his way over to Keith quickly.

Lance slowed once he reached his friend. “Did he fall asleep…?”

He paused to take in the details of the mask the other wore. It looked like a cat’s face with what could have been tribal markings on it. He had seen similar ones at festivals he went to during the summers. Lance put the flowers down and slowly lifted his hands up to grasp the mask. He wanted to know what Keith’s face looked like, _if he even had one._ He was curious as to why he wore the mask.

 _‘It’s okay if I’m only touching the mask, right?’_ , Lance thought. It shouldn’t influence the other.

Lance took a deep breath and lifted the mask slowly. He took in the facial features of the other, like he would never have a chance to again. Keith had long bangs to compensate for his unruly and longish hair and clear, smooth skin. Lance thought he looked almost pretty ―like a porcelain doll almost― while he slept.

His viewing was however interrupted when Keith’s eyes cracked open, revealing stormy grey-violet irises. They matched the color the sky looked like just hours before a storm. Dark and unnaturally calm. Lance thought they were fascinating, but he panicked once the murky eyes landed on him.  

“Ah, I-I’m sorry!” Lance slammed the mask back down on Keith’s face and stood quickly.

Keith sucked in a breath quickly and let it out in a groan of pain and covered his masked face with his hands, rolling into his side. With one hand still placed on the mask, he sat up and looked at Lance.

“Attacking someone while they sleep, huh?” He let out a breath. “You sure are one scary kid.”

Lance looked to the side out of embarrassment. “I am sorry, but, were you even really sleeping?”

“I looked like I was though, right?” Keith rested his chin in the palm of his hand. He was more relaxed now that that little ordeal was over.

The young boy was silent for a matter of seconds before he looked back at the other.

“Why do you wear that mask…?”

Keith was surprised at the sudden inquiry. “If I don’t wear it, I don’t look much like a spirit, do I?”

Lance looked down at the small pile of flowers next to him and picked them back up. “You really are weird…”

Keith chuckled.

Lance say down across from him and started to weave the flowers into a crown so he could wear it for the rest of the day.

“Where did you learn to make those?”

Lance paused, he tilted his head back up and saw that the other was staring at him as he made the little perishable accessories.

“My mother taught me to make ‘em last summer.” Lance looked down at the small crown.

~~~

He was walking Lance back to the path he could take to get home when the child brought up a topic he hadn’t thought of very deeply before.

“Uh, Keith?”

Keith hummed in response.

“I can’t come tomorrow. I’ve said it before, right? I’d only be staying at my grandfathers for the summer. So… I have to go home tomorrow…” Lance looked down at the ground dejectedly.

Keith only hummed again which made the child slump more. He stopped in his tracks without a warning, which startled Lance and he looked up again.

“Are you coming back next summer?”

Lance grinned, “Yeah! I will!”

Keith smiled under the mask and turned to continue walking.

Lance knew then and there that summer would be something he would forever look forward to.

~~~

_I  waited for that next summer when I would see Keith again. I knew it was worth the wait once I saw him sitting, waiting on those old stairs to greet me once again._

~~~

There was one afternoon that duo was walking, when a large arm reached out of the tree and the hand wrapped around Keith’s body. It was so swift that Lance backed up a few feet.

“Keith…” a voice came from everywhere, yet nowhere. It surrounded the two from all directions.

“Keith!” Lance called out, panicked because he did not know what was happening.

“This is dangerous Keith. That is a human child… If he touches you, you’ll disappear.”

Keith took a deep breath, “Thank you, but I’ll be okay.”

The giant wooden hand let him go. Slowly retreating into the tree.

“Please do not touch him little human child…”

Lance was still frozen to the spot.

“I won’t.” He whispered, more to himself than as an answer to the tree spirit.

Keith began walking again as if nothing had happened. Lance followed a few paces behind when he started to hear voices.

“Keith, Keith be careful…”

“Keith… don’t let him touch you…”

‘ _T_ _he spirits can touch him, right?’_ Lance thought.

~~~

_One summer easily passed by me, then two and three. This year I was eleven._

~~~

“Lance. Where are you?”

Keith walked through the woods casually, looking all around him for said boy. He had run off some time ago and Keith hadn’t been able to find him since. He sighed and wondered how he ever got along with the child in the first place. They were complete opposites. He was calm and quiet, brooding most days over little things. Lance on the other hand was an energetic child, he loved to talk and was smiling all the time, even when he was hurt. Keith liked the small boy for the way he looked at life.  

“Lance! Lan- “

“Boo!”

Keith sucked in a breath. Lance really had scared him. He stared up at the boy who was now hanging upside down from a tree branch, he was holding his shirt up, so it didn’t cover his face.

“What the hell are you doing.”

Lance climbed back onto the branch. He chuckled awkwardly. “I wanted to see what you looked like startled, but…”

There was a heavy silence for some moments. It was stifling.

“Hey, at least when it’s just us, could you… take off that mask occasionally?”

“Sure,” Keith grabbed hold of his mask and began to lift it, “But, is there any reason why?”

“Not really, but- “

There was a loud crack and Lance froze. He looked at Keith.   

“Lance! Watch ou-”

Time slowed, Lance’s eyes widened when he saw Keith running towards him. He must have seen the expression Lance wore clearly, because he stopped on the spot and Lance hit the ground with a with a dull thud.

“Ack!”

Keith let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and leaned down to rest his hands on his knees, “That was close…”

Lance was out of breath as he laid on the forest floor. “Yeah…”

“Look I’m sorry Lance. Are… are you okay?”

Lance turned so he was on his stomach and pushed himself to his knees. He laughed a little.

“Thank god…”

“Huh?” Keith was confused. _What does that mean? He could have gotten seriously injured._

Lance looked down. “Hey, K-Keith…”

He took a few steps closer and crouched down so he could be eye level with Lance.

“No matter what… Don’t ever touch me, okay…?”

Keith was silent.

“O…Okay…?”

Tears welled up in Lance’s eyes, making them look like a hurricane in the autumn. He began to truly cry when he realized he would never be able to touch Keith. It broke his heart that he always had to keep his distance from the other. He choked out the first sob and hid his face in his hands.

“No matter what!” He begged, hoping Keith would always remember those words. But a voice in the back of his mind still wished for the older masked male to reach out and comfort him with a hug.

~~~

_The next two summers I once again continued to visit him in that forest. I entered my teenage years with flying colors._

~~~

“I’m off!” Lance called to his grandfather. Another summer, another year gone by where Lance grew. Now at the age of thirteen Lance knew more about himself than he ever did before and he knew that knowledge would only grow as the years progressed.

He raced all the way to his meeting place with Keith. It was where they met every day of every summer. After all,t wasn’t going anywhere.

“Keith!” he called out, “I’m here again this summer!”

Lance grinned at the older boy. “I’m also a seventh grader now!”

“You know… somehow you’re really starting to look a lot older, you’re growing up into a real man.”

Lance crossed his arms defensively, sticking his lip out in a pout. “I am a man.” He retorted.

Keith stood and huffed. That seemed to be the way he mostly laughed. He turned and began walking away from the path. He thought Lance looked kind of adorable pouting like that.

“C'mon let’s go.”

“Yeah…”

Lance smiled to himself as he followed Keith, getting lost in his thoughts.

After a bit of walking he turned to stare a Keith from the corner of his eye.

“Oh…” he mumbled to himself, coming to a realization.

“What.” Keith turned to him.

He shook his head with a smile. “It… It’s nothing. Anyways, you know even when I transferred to middle school, a lot of my elementary school friends are still in the same class as I am. So, I don’t feel as if much has changed.”

“Interesting.” Keith said with sarcasm evident in his tone.

“Hey, they're my friends!”

‘ _Our ages are slowly getting closer…’_ Lance thought while making idle conversation with Keith.

‘ _S_ _omehow Keith ages a lot more slowly than I do.’_ Lance concluded that same day during the summer.

~~~

Keith held up a kite. “Is this how you wanted it?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah! Now when I start running I want you to let it go, alright!”

Keith gave a thumbs up from his position of holding the object above his head.

“I’m off!” Lance turned and started to sprint opposite of where Keith stood and said male let go of the kite. It rose into the air, and he let his arms fall to his side.

Lance came to a stop once he was satisfied with the height of the kite. He grinned. Keith walked over and stood beside him, staring up at the —now smaller— flying object.

Lance looked at Keith and held out a hand which held the string for the kite and gave Keith a wide smile, silently inviting him to fly it himself. He took the string and holder from the other and watched the small red and blue rhombus fly through the wind. He liked the color scheme.

He gasped a little at how fun it was. Lance laughed.

_~~~_

As the sun began to set that day, the two walked side by side back to their meet-up spot. Lance carried his kite lazily over his shoulder and the silence was thick.  

Keith stopped, and Lance paused after noticing the others movement, or lack of.

He turned to face Keith and sucked in a breath. The other had his head tilted up and was as still as possible. He noticed something small and white fluttering into the masks nose. It was a butterfly. Lance watched as he slowly lifted it and his eyes widened at the small smile that laid on his face. Keith must not have noticed the gawking Lance was doing on the sidelines because he was just focused on the white butterflies that were moving around his head. Lance watched on with awe as Keith’s eyes closed and he sighed out of content.

~~~

Lance got back to his grandfathers and was tired from the long day behind him. He laid on the floor of his room with an open window and a small electric fan plugged in and running next to him. Summers could be unbearably hot sometimes.

‘ _Someday I’ll be older than Keith, won’t I?’_

Lance paused and stared at the ceiling, listening to the wind chimes that were on the porch have outside. There were footsteps on the floor outside his bedroom door and Lance rolled onto his side to face it once it opened.

“Oi, Lance, I cut some watermelon if you want any.”

“Okay, Yeah! Sounds good to me.” Lance sat up, his signature grin returning.

He walked out onto the porch and sat on the stairs next to the older man.

“Where’d my mother go?”

“She went out shopping with your aunt to buy some gifts in town. But on another note, what time are you taking the train back tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure, but she said we would still be here until the afternoon.”

“Really now?”

Lance nodded and continued to munch on his slice of watermelon.

“The weather this summer was nice, so the watermelon was sweeter than normal.”

Lance nodded in agreement.

“If it stays like this, winter will be freezing.”

Lance looked at his grandfather. “Really?”

The other nodded. “Really.”

“This place is going to get especially cold because we’re closer to the mountain. It could probably freeze the mountain god himself.” He joked.

“Hmmm…” Lance thought of Keith.

‘ _How would he fare in the winter?’_

~~~

“A scarf…?”

“Yes! Please use it in the winter from now on, okay?”

Keith looked down at the scarf. “Hmm…”

“See you next summer, Bye!” Lance turned and began walking away.

Keith looked back up, “Okay. I’ll use it.”

Lance grinned and turned to wave as he began jogging back to his house. “Goodbye for now!”

Keith waved back. A fond look on his face under the mask.

~~~

Lance stared out the window to his classroom, zoning out for the umpteenth time that day.

“-clai- “

“McClain!”

Lance startled and whirled around to face the person. It was his classmate and close friend Takashi Shirogane.

“Lance class is over. You can go home now.”

Lance nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay.”

He continued to space out on the way home and was surprised he didn’t get lost along the way. He sighed and threw his backpack off in his room and took off the heavy outer layers he wore for the cooler weather.

“Lance, welcome home.”

“Hi mom.”

“Dinner’s ready on the table, so put your things down in your room and come eat.”

“Alright.” Lance called from the bottom of the stairs, walking up and throwing his bag on the floor. He came down the stairs two at a time.

Sitting at the table he finally noticed how quiet it was. “Where are Veronica, Marco and Luis?”

His mother set a plate in front of Lance. “They are all having sleepovers this weekend.”

“Oh… Well, it’s nice having some quiet time isn't it?”

His mother sighed, sitting down across from her son and beginning to eat. Lance joined her and picked up his fork, shoveling food in his mouth.

“Yes… But I miss them when it is this quiet. It will always remind me that one day all of you will be grown up and gone.”

Lance paused to look at his mother, she was truly a beautiful women. Long dark brown hair, clear blue eyes like the sky on a cloudless day and sun-kissed skin.

Lance decided it was just best to eat in silence after that. So after all his nightly duties were done, Lance laid in his bed looking at the glow stars that littered his ceiling, thinking about the future until he fell asleep.

~~~

The next day Lance did his morning routine as usual and made his way out of the house, walking down the road to school. Once again, he was spacing out, oblivious to his surroundings.

“McClain.”

“Mc-Cl-ain.”

Lance looked over at his classmate.

“Good morning Lance.”

“Hello Takashi.”

Lance continued walking a few paces, until Shiro called out to him for a third time, making him slow.

“Wait a second Lance, there near your feet, it’s frozen over.”

Lance looked down and sure enough, Shiro  had been right. The sidewalk was slippery with ice where he stood.

He sighed. “You’ll slip. It’s dangerous. Here let me help you.”

He held out a hand and Lance took it gratefully.

“Thank you.” Lance said with a smile and a light blush covering his freckled skin. 

Shiro smiled back, just slightly.

They continued walking to the school, with Shiro still holding Lance’s hand. “It got really cold today, don’t you think?”

Lance didn’t answer.

The taller male let out a huff of warm air. “You’ve been a little out of it lately, are you alright?”

Shiro turned to Lance with a concerned look. Lance simply nodded in response, losing himself to his thoughts again.

_‘I want to… see Keith…’_

_‘I want to… touch Keith…’_

~~~

_He returned for more summers after that and soon the young boy was a high schooler, nearly fully grown. His freshman year was going to be an experience._

_~~~_

“Hello again.” His voice was light and airy, something the other missed.

Keith bobbed in acknowledgment and started to walk. By now Lance knew by instinct to follow the other. They walked in a comforting silence, listening to the cicadas’ chirp in the trees.

“Time really flies, doesn’t it? You’re already in high school.”

“Yup, it’s been lots fun. I’ve met a lot of new people.”

The two walked to the pond Keith had showed Lance when he was younger. They sat and watched the clouds roll by lazily. Lance crossed his legs and wished for the day to last longer. Wished for everyday to last forever.  

“I noticed you don’t come running at me anymore.”

Keith turned his head to face Lance. He looked back at the masked male. Lance gave the other a deadpan stare.

“I think I learned my lesson after all those damn beatings I took from you.” Lance commented lowly, glaring at Keith. “You could have ruined my face you know. I have a reputation to keep up!”

Lance faced the sky again after calming down some. “Anyways, I look forward to three years from now, I’ll be out of high-school and I could just do college online. Makes things easier.”

“What about after that? What are you going to do?”

“Look for a job in this area so I can spend more time with you. Obviously”

Keith watched the other from under his mask. Lance could never read his expressions with it covering his face, could never know what he was thinking.

“In the fall, the winter, spring, always… Right?”

Keith hesitated, Lance was smiling at him again. He always was. It made him giddy on the inside. But, it also made him wonder just what he was hiding under that visage of happiness.

“Lance, I…” There was a pause in his words, he was only prolonging the inevitable, “I want to tell you about myself.”

Lance sat up straighter with interest. He leaned slightly forward, eyes fixated on Keith’s mask.  

“I’m… not actually a spirit. But, I’m not really human anymore either…”

Lance turned fully to face Keith. One arm resting on his knee and his chin in the palm of his hand.

“I was once human, but when I was a baby my mother abandoned me in this forest.” He gestured around them vaguely, “I had only just been abandoned so I cried, helpless to my surroundings. It was like I was trying to call back the woman who left me. The spirits said I didn’t stop crying for a long time.”

Keith took an intake of air and let it out slowly. “I should have died then, but the god of the mountain appeared and cast a spell that allowed me to continue living… So that I never move on.”

Lance stayed silent, taking in all this new information. Keith must really trust him to tell Lance his backstory.

“I’m like a ghost.” Keith turned to face him. “Lance… I’ll be okay if you forget about me.”

Keith examined Lance’s face. He looked… startled, no… scared? His eyes were wide and he had stiffened, but there were so many emotions crossing the younger boy’s face that Keith couldn’t tell just what he was thinking.

“A form  maintained by magic is a immensely weak one. If it touches a real human body, the spell will break and the body will disappear.”

Keith laughed dryly at the irony. “It’s such a fragile thing. I think it’s so stupid, why couldn’t the god have cast a better spell. How long can you- “

Lance interrupted Keith’s saddening monologue. “Something that disappears when touched… it’s just like snow, isn’t it? It’s something that’s fragile yet so… beautiful...” Lance let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and stared deep into the orbs of Keith ―even in he couldn’t see his face behind the mask.

Keith looked up at the other. “You know Keith, I thought of you during the winter. Even through the fall, and spring too. Keith, don’t you  dare forget about me, okay?”

Lance knew he would die before Keith. He had accepted it years ago when he noticed Keith never aged. He knew he would grow old and Keith would still look like a young man. He knew that the other was going to outlive him, but he didn’t want to be forgotten. He wanted some part of him to stay with Keith. Even if just a memory.

“Time might separate us one day. But even so, at least for now, let’s stay together. Please.”

~~~

“Spirit festival?” He tilted his head.

“No, it’s a summer festival held by the spirits.”

“That’s literally like the same thing.” Lance muttered under his breath.

“They are completely different things! One is a spirit festival and the other is just a festival.” Keith elaborated.

Lance laughed. “That’s… hahaha! That is the same thing Keith!”

He shook his head,“When you were little, I didn’t invite you because I thought you might get scared. Some of the spirits don’t exactly, look like us.”

Keith continued to look straight ahead across the pond as Lance looked at him. He sounded nervous. Like a boy asking a girl out on a date for the first time. Ocean orbs stared right at the side of Keith’s face, he was glad he had the mask to cover his heated cheeks.

“So tonight, could you  maybe sneak out of your house? I’ve wanted to go with you for a long time.”

Lance grinned, wider than he ever had. “I-I want to go!”

Keith chuckled, “Good. Meet me at our usual place at eight.”

“But… a festival full of spirits. It sounds a little unnerving to me. What if something happens?”

Keith lifted his mask to reveal half his face. He smiled at Lance, to reassure him that everything would be okay. Lance took the short amount of time to take in the unchanging features of the other. The grey eyes are what Lance liked the most. He spent many nights dreaming about the stormy look they had to them.

“You have nothing to worry about, it looks just like a human festival from the outside. It’s supposed to mimic them after all.”

Keith turned back to the water as Lance continued to watch him.

“I’ll protect you Lance.”

“Don’t worry.” He added after a pause.

Lance looked away, his face turning red and he stuttered out, “When you say stuff like that it makes me want to hug you, you know.”

“Do it.”

Lance turned back, “Huh?”

“Seriously. I want you to do it.”

Lance’s face saddened and under his breath he murmured, “Keith…”

The other seemed to catch his mistake, “No… I-uh… Never mind.”

The rest of the time they were together before Lance left was filled with a silence like smoke. Thick, grey and it hard to breathe in.

~~~

That night the festival was bright, spirits disguised as people were about and it did look just like any other festival Lance had been to. There were some children who tried to catch fish in a game, others who bobbed for apples. There were tiny windmills and cotton candy. Some people wore decorative masks and others had ears atop their heads. Lance couldn’t tell who was a person or not.

Keith had also told him to wear a yukata to the festival. Lance would have argued with him, but he liked the idea of wearing one. Lance decided on one that was blue and it looked like it was covered in stars. He thought it was lovely and Keith had complimented him on it. Yet, Lance liked Keith’s better because it was just a plain red, like the color of roses. He thought it fit the other perfectly.

They walked down the dirt road, with stalls on either side. Lance looked around in awe. “You’re right. It is just like a human festival.”

Keith looked up the few inches that had grown between the two. He was slightly jealous Lance had hit such a large growth spurt. He was so lost in his head he almost didn’t hear the others question.

“Are they all disguised as humans?”

Keith looked around too, “That’s right. Impressive isn’t it? I’ve heard that sometimes humans even mix in unknowingly.”

Lance snickered. “Reminds me of something my grandfather told me years ago.”

“What?”

Lance winked. “Nothing.”

He began to walk again when Keith called out.

“Lance, wait just a second.”

Lance turned to face him. Keith pulled out a long cloth from the sleeve of his own yukata and handed one end to the tall male.

“Tie it around your wrist. I don’t want you getting lost.”

Lance beamed and nodded his head. “Alright.Will do.”

He grabbed one end and tied it while Keith tied his own end, it brought back another memory from long ago. The fateful day they first met.“This is just like going on a date.”

“This _is_ a date.”

Lance stiffened, and his face turned beet red. Keith had actually said they were going on a date. A _real_ date. Lance was internally panicking. He had wanted this for such a long time.

“Shall we go?” Keith questioned with earnest.

All Lance could stutter out was a simple, “Mhm.”

They began to walk through the crowds of people, looking at booths and watching children run around the groups of people. The couple walked around until fireworks show began. The two males stood side by side. There were cheers, ‘Ooo’s’ and ‘awww’s’ from the crowd. The bright, exploding colors reminded Lance of how his heart felt at that very moment in time, fluttery and light.

After the fireworks they wandered back to the wall of mini windmills. Lance blew on one and watched the colors blend while it spun. He curiously watched as Keith lifted his mask just enough to be able to blow his own windmill. Lance felt the corner of his mouth quirk upwards.

The two moved on to watch a show that Lance was completely certain was supposed to be a man taming a beast, but then the costume felly off and a large lion-like creature was standing in the middle of the crowd, eyes wide. Lance held his sides with the laughter that came out. Keith would always think they sounded like church bells. An alluring sound.

Lance calmed himself down to a chortle, “Well that was weird.”

The entire crowd was laughing as the spirit ran off between the booths.

Just then, some children shoved themselves between the two people and danced around in the middle of the open ring of onlookers. They turned to Lance and Keith.

“Ew, a couple!” They all called out in unison.  

“Hey!” Lance barked out threateningly, even though he actually didn’t intend to hurt the children. The kids all howled with amusement. Lance crackled again, and Keith looked over at him.

They turned and walked back to the wall of masks and Lance reached his hand out to feel some as they made their way past. They were all so different and unique. Lance liked all of them, even if some were a little more frightening than others.

He kept brushing his hands over the ones he passed until he reached a man at the end that he thought at first was another mask.

“I-I’m sorry!” Lance called out running away before the man could even get a word out. Keith nearly fell because Lance dragged him forward so quickly.

They had fun the rest of their time at the summer festival.

~~~

“Ah, that was so weird!” Lance said while stretching his arms out. It was past twelve by then and Keith was walking him back to the path he would take to get home.

“Everyone went all out with their disguises. It was like a mimicking competition! It is like that every year?”

Keith let out a little huff of laughter. “Yeah, every time summer rolls around…”

The two were still tied by the wrists. It was almost like holding hands. The closest they would ever get to touching.

“Lance, I don’t think I can wait for summer anymore.” The mentioned boy looked toward Keith.

“When you’re away from me, even though I can’t be around crowds of people, I really want to go see you. I just miss you so much that it hurts.”

Lance reached out his hand to grab Keith’s when he remembered all their talks about how they can’t come into contact with each other physically, and his hand fell back limply to his side.

They walked a few more paces when Keith halted his walking and unexpectedly took off his mask. He placed it over Lance’s face carefully. Now, Lance could truly see his face for the first time in years. Under the moonlit night he looked beautiful. His grey-violet eyes stared right back at Lance. He reminded Lance of a spider lily. Delicate and yet so mesmerizing. He could feel his heartbeat quicken and his eyes widened when Keith started to lean in. Lance stiffened.

Keith closed the space between his lips and the mask. It was as if he were kissing Lance on the cheek.

_Accept it wasn’t because of they touched he would disappear._

Lance’s face bloomed over with red as Keith slowly pulled away. He smiled at Lance with eyes half closed.

“That mask… Keep it.”

It took a few moments for Lance to regain his composure. Once they started to walk again he lost himself to his thoughts.

‘ _Keith probably won’t come to that place next summer. This has surely got to be our last…’_

His heart hurt just thinking about that fact, not ever seeing Keith again tore him up on the inside. It would be like losing a piece of himself.

By pure chance two children ran by the couple walking. Unmistakably playing a game of tag.

“Hey, wait!” The one chasing the first child called out. The small boy then tripped over a rock, stumbling forwards.

“Watch out!” Keith exclaimed, grabbing the child’s arm before he could hit the ground.

He let go of the boys arm once he was standing upright.

Lance bent down a little, “Are you okay?”

“Yes! Thank you mister!” The two children then ran off into the nearby trees.

“Be careful!” Lance called out to them, waving goodbye.

He turned back to Keith and his eyes widened beneath the mask. The dark-haired male was staring down at the hand that had grabbed the child. It was starting to glow a soft yellow, as if it were being engulfed fireflies.

“Keith…?”

Lance suddenly gasped with a horrified realization and turned his head in the direction the two children ran, “Was that boy a human?”

Lance whipped his head back to Keith. The other male looked… surprised. Not scared nor hurt, only an expression of confusion. As if he couldn’t fully comprehend the situation at hand.

“Keith!” Lance cried out. He was glowing more now. Tiny orbs of soft yellow light leaving his body. He was truly, slowly… disappearing.

Keith held out his arms with a warm smile on his face. He looked like the happiest man in the world, he was finally about to touch the person he loved most.

“Come here, Lance. I can finally touch you…”

The lights were crawling up Keith’s arms and started to appear on other parts of his body. Lance gasped and threw off the mask, lunging towards Keith. Towards the person he craved touch from since he was little.

Keith continued to smile as Lance jumped into his arms. He felt the warmth radiating off Lance’s body. The soft tickle of his short hair on the side of his face, the sense of place in his arms. He wrapped his arms around the more lanky body of the younger man.

Lance’s face glowed with more shine than the full moon on a clear summer night ―smiled brighter than he had in his entire life as he finally felt what he had wanted for years. He finally felt the strong grip of the arms that reached around him. The long brown hair he had always wanted to feel was soft and velvety. It was everything he had ever hoped to dream of and more. It was something Lance would treasure for forever and even longer.

He had his eyes closed but he could feel the light that radiated off the little following orbs that had surrounded the two. It was only then did fate decide that they had had enough time.

That it was time for Keith to go.

Lance started to fall forward onto his knees as the other disappeared around him. Fading into nothing but those magnificent fireflies.

He choked out a sob, clutching onto Keith’s clothes with all his strength, as if he was still there.

~~~

_“I love you.”_

_“Yeah. I love you, too.”_

_~~~_

Lance sobbed until his shattered heart could take no more. Sitting back on his legs and staring up at the full moon in the sky, he hummed brokenly, a sparkle in his eyes.

The little yellow fireflies stayed in the clearing, floating around as if waiting for Lance to make a move. But, the teen only sat and watched them as they started to drift away on the summer's breeze.

After more time he composed himself, stood and trudged over to the mask Keith had placed on him just moments ago. It lay on the grass staring right back at him. He picked it up and held it to his chest tightly.

~~~

_Rich green, is the forest of the mountain god._

~~~

“Lance, thank you…”

“We wished to be with Keith forever, but… he wanted to touch a human.”

Lance wiped his eyes and looked around at all the spirits he had seen over the years surround him, just beyond the tree line.

“He finally got to be hugged by a human…”

“His wish came true because of you… We thank you…”

Lance waved at all the spirits as a silent thank you as well.

_I probably won’t be able to look forward to summer for a long time._

He made his way back down to their meeting spot alone, holding the mask to his heart and looking down.

_My chest will hurt._

He lifted the mask to his face and kissed it lightly.

_My tears will be spilling over._

He kept the front of the mask pressed against his face as he walked. Eyes closed and heart leaden.

_Yet, this warmth in my hands and these bright summer memories will always live on in my heart._

Lance looked one last time at the moonlit sky and watched the last of the fireflies disappear into the trees once he reached the path.

It was almost as if… they led him back.

_I will always look ahead. Let’s move forward and take these memories with me._

**Author's Note:**

> So I am counting this as my first fan-fiction ever, and I hope you had fun reading this. Hope you cried if you know Hotarubi no Mori e because damn did that movie hurt or just cried because this was a sad fic. I apologize for any errors in here, 1) I'm still trying to figure out how to write thoughts and 2) this was supposed to come out almost a month and a half ago but then I realized finals exist. So editing took me all that time lmao.  
> Fanart by my friend can be found here: https://prezidenttaquito.tumblr.com/post/174510165424/so-around-a-week-and-a-half-ago-i-wrote-a-hotarubi


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